Road Test
Subaru Forester 2.0 X
Test date 04 June 2008
Price as tested £17,995
For Low-rev refinement, quiet, comfortable ride, straightforward, honest character
AgainstUninspiring exterior, drab interior, high running costs
Some have described the Forester as the original soft-roader. But the first version that arrived in the UK in 1997 was really more a utilitarian workhorse; a reputation born from the fact that when Subarus first arrived in the UK in 1977 there were no dealerships, so the first cars were sold alongside farm machinery.
In essence the Forester was an Impreza with a larger estate body and raised ground clearance. Mk2 arrived in 2003, together with a raft of zippy turbocharged models (first and second generation), including some nutty STi versions that were sadly never officially imported into the UK.
In recent years, Subaru’s rallying exploits have taken its road cars to a much wider, more performance-oriented audience, but the new Forester is evidence that the old Subaru values of solid, no-nonsense engineering remain.
So while the longer, taller new Forester is closer than ever to the small SUV norm, it still sets itself apart from rivals such as the Honda CR-V or Ford Kuga. The Forester not only avoids the glam detailing that covers most other soft-roaders but also sticks to traditional 4x4 spec.
The question is, will its plain-speaking ruggedness tempt buyers away from more glamorous SUVs? And does enough off-road estate DNA remain to keep owners of the current model happy?
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